Austin American-Statesman
April 14 2001
Michael Corcoran

Guided By Voices
Isolation Drills
TVT Records

It's almost not fair. Songs like "Chasing Heather Crazy," "Twilight Campfighter," "The Enemy" and "The Brides Have Hit Glass" are so relentless any one of them could serve as the centerpiece of an album by some other band. Here they're strung together effortlessly, songwriter Robert Pollard proving that he has an endless supply of hooks and hammers. But never has the prolific sounded more purposeful, nor has the top of Pollard's head, from where the lyrics sprout, come off so polished. The current incarnation of GBV (Doug Gillard, Nate Farley, Tim Tobias, Jim MacPherson) has the muscle to match Bob's Mersey Beat updates, so explosions of guitar and wicked snare shots pin down any prospect of preciousness. Where other acts are on a quest for the listener's soul, GBV wants your marrow, that human core that melody melts.

If there's any downside to this latest release from indie rock's guiding light, it's that the album is hard to listen to from beginning to end. It's too rich, too vigorous, too packed with precise notes. The majestic becomes almost routine, kinda like eating at the same four-star restaurant day after day.

In the arena of drawbacks, that ranks with rugburns.